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April 25, 2010

I got an email today from my blog partner Kelly saying I got nuthin’ for a Monday post (considering she carries our blog with her phenomenal posts, that’s totally OKAY!) and she went on to suggest that I share my new finally-finished drapery with our DesignTies readers!

Yes! They’re done!!

But nope… I’m not sharing them with you!!

How bad am I?! Well… the reason I’m not sharing today is because I have some patchwork to do in first. You see, back when we were renovating our bedroom we used our dining room as our temporary sleeping quarters… and that meant hanging drapery for privacy. The rod – and hardware - that we use for the bedroom drapes however are different from the rod & hardware purchased for the dining room drapes. So… before I can hang (and hem) our newly-made-by-me(!!) drapes, I have to sand and paint over Brian’s patches so that he can hang the rod.

In anticipation for the big drapery reveal (coming to DesignTies soon!) I thought I’d share our dining room’s transformation – you know, to help you visualize just how fantastic the drapes are going to look in the wonderful room that Brian built for me…with direction from moi, of course! ;-)

Let’s start with the BEFORE:

Here’s our dining room posing as a make-shift kitchen. We made all of our easy at-home meals – or dished out yummy take-out - in this room while our kitchen was being remodelled. The drapery and lace sheers (the white bit you see) came with the house and were UGLY! Oh… and the wall colour was UGLY! And the chandelier… not pretty at all (really).

Our little house didn’t actually have a dining room… this room was originally supposed to be a bedroom. See…

In this photo I’m standing in our kitchen area - the door on the left leads to our “dining room” and the door to the right to our living room. To make this a real dining room – and to open up our spaces a little more for better flow – we blew these doorways OUT!

At the same time, we were tearing out all the lath & plaster from the walls and ceiling! What a huge and messy job!!

Once the room was gutted, and the great archway in place, we built a new interior wall. You see… we were stealing 2 feet of this room and giving it to the bedroom next door. You can see the wall leading from one edge of the new archway in this photo below, with the old wall in behind (it came down later):

Next… we replaced the window.

You know… climbing the front stairs that first day we viewed the house I saw this window and KNEW that I wanted this house. I loved the simple leaded glass! Of course upon closer inspection we realized that it just couldn’t be kept – it was cracked and so badly painted shut that it would never open. So out it came and we replaced it with a window that I happen to love even more!!

Now that the new wall, window and archway were in place, and the walls were snuggly insulated (no insulation originally!), it was time to put everything back together. Our house was built in 1939 and we definitely wanted to create that sense of character you find in older homes. You’ll have to tell me if we did!

Drywall and our new chandelier…

Shaped forms in the archway’s corners… plastered…

Simple wainscotting was installed around the room and the trim around the window was inspired by a local Craftsman style house we love…

I painted the room one of my favourite colours – orange (Benjamin Moore’s “Bronze Tone”) – with BM’s Cloud White for all the trim and wainscotting.

To give the ceiling a little more interest I asked Brian to create a coffered look for me. He accomplished this look with strips of wood that he glued and screwed to the ceiling… framed up with a simple crown moulding. The shape of the “beams” were inspired by the mullions in the window. I painted the ceiling in BM’s Sandy Brown, but haven’t yet painted the ceiling trim – bad me!! It’ll be Cloud White, too.

The little piano window in the side wall really wasn’t very special. We considered replacing it with one that matched the casement window you see above, but decided to leave it. Instead, I created a faux leaded glass look instead. I wrote all about this particular project here. It looks great and I love it!!

I wish… I could purchase a new dining room table! Brian is my financial conscience and he tells me we have too many projects to complete first. One day!!

Here’s a photo that shows you just how fantastic our new archway works for the room… scroll back to the beginning of this post for a reminder of what it looked like before!!

Oh ya! It’ll look spectacular with my new drapes!!

This post is being shared with readers from Funky Junk; Donna hosts a wonderful blog party!!. If you’ve come from Donna’s place – welcome!! Now… be sure to make your way back to Funky Junk to see all the other lovely home decor, DIY, crafts, sewing and scrumptious food photos & recipies being showcased in this weeks’ Saturday Nite Specials!!

Thanks for dropping by… and be sure to return soon to see my drapes HUNG!

28
comments:

Can't wait to see them! I love that fabric. And the light fixture is gorgeous. It's unbelievable what you've done with this space. And I did notice that you had the best friend you can have while doing a complete kitchen reno - a case of Corona :) Kathy

Love it! Victoria, you and your hubby did an amazing job, it looks like it was so much work! I love the color that you painted the room, and I can just imagine how great those drapes are going to look hung. I love seeing all the photos of the process you guys went through.

I also wanted to thank you for the comment you left on my living room over at Hooked on Houses! PS. Your invited over to my place ANY time!!Nancy

I can't believe you turned that sad blue room (sorry) into this warm happy joy of a room! LOVE the ceiling, LOVE the "lead glass" widow and absolutely drool over the gorgeous arch! The drapes will look amazing in this dining room, I'm so looking forward to see them up (I'm assuming you will post it =)

You did a wonderful job on the room, I can't wait to see the final results, but I still cannot imagine the room looking any better than it does now. Love the paint color. Thanks for visiting and for sharing your beautiful room.Sandy

Love it and sometimes it feels like it takes longer than it actually does. The creative mind is such a wonderful place to start our dreams. The best part is the reality check once we've achieved it. Well done!

Victoria, I am constantly amazed when I see pictures of your hard work. You guys are so talented and your home is just gorgeous. I love the arches, colors and the windows. The new drapes will be stunning I am sure. Thanks also for stopping by and leaving such a sweet comment. Hugs, Marty

Nice choice on the drapery fabric Victoria! It has a great modern feel, that will go so nicely with your new trim. Sorry, can't make the luch on the 8th...my hubby is taking me away for my bday:) Thanks for including me, and have fun!

Had to stop by and see your ceiling. Love it! Thanks for visiting my bloga nd leaving such a nice coment. Your curtains look pretty also. I have used pleating tape and it makes sewing curtains so much easier.

- I'm lucky, reform the flat during a journey of 28 days and when I returned everything was okay. I had luck and help from a decorator, of course! I'm just an appreciator of home-design. I think my participation it would disrupt. :)

Now that is a big metamorphosis. Fabulous job. Great vision. I bought an orange paint for my downstairs but still haven't gone through with it. You have given me some inspiration. Yes I did freehand the roses I painted. I like to see blogs from my area. At least when you show a product or service I can get my hands on it too.

Thank you - everyone - for your FAB comments!! Yes, as soon as I can I'll be posting photos of my dining room window all dressed and ready for the party! Julia... thanks so much for pointing out my boo-boo... I've since replaced your name with Susan's. Geesh! My excuse: I'm going nuts!!Victoria

Wow! I was really amazed what you've done in designing the house. At the end it look so beautiful! Love it so much!John Taylorliverpool blinds Dress up your room without breaking the bank styling your room

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"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

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JAX Decor & Design

Design Trade - Home Office Winner!!

Kelly has WON for the best Home Office in Design Trades' "Give Us Your Best Shot II" competition!

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Welcome to DesignTies!

DesignTies

We're two Canadian chicks who love everything about interior decorating and remodeling. We demo! We paint! We tile! And then we write all about it here on our blog.

We're also always on the lookout for pictures that will inspire us and you - beautiful rooms, unique design solutions, fun decorating ideas... it's all about making your homes and ours great places to be :-)

DesignTies is:

Kelly James
Ottawa, OntarioJAX Decor & Design

and

Victoria Lambert
New Westminster, BCEdin Interiors

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